[fewtch]

Add another player to my list of terrific bargains in used/inexpensive CD players. Got this baby today, and after correcting a bit of a shipping mishap I got it up and running. I was expecting a decent sound from the audioreview.com reviews of the player, but... my toes are not only tapping, but I got up and started dancing. Hard to give any higher recommendation than that

. Terrific PRAT in a bargain CD player, albeit with a little bit of a "house sound" reminiscent of inexpensive power supply units. Great stuff... definitely better than my Rotel RCD-855 for non-classical, although I think I'd pick the Rotel for sheer neutrality and high-end-like transparency.

The 5-CD changer is a bit on the noisy/clunky side... I suspect this will be the first thing to go in the unit, and unlike single-CD units it's unlikely to last decades. But... the price is right. I think I'll stick with the analog outputs and *not* get a Zhaolu like I was considering... the built in DACs really are pretty dandy to my ears. Well extended on both ends, smooth highs (without digititis), very musically engaging overall.

 

[Ampersand]

Glad to hear you like the sound. I enjoy the sound of my DCM-380. My only complaint is that it won't play about a third of my cds. Hopefully you will be lucky and not have this problem.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ampersand Glad to hear you like the sound. I enjoy the sound of my DCM-380. My only complaint is that it won't play about a third of my cds. Hopefully you will be lucky and not have this problem.

So far I haven't, it seems to play everything OK. However, the transport mechanism is definitely not the best in the world. Weakest aspect of the player, by far. I wonder how other changers like the Sony CE595 compare... never have been much of a fan of multiple CD changers, but this one was offered for a song and I couldn't resist.

 

[fewtch]

This player is sooo freakin' smooth in the highs (and otherwise warm/engaging/musical), especially paired with the Beyer DT880. I made a rapid intuitive right-brain decision in picking up this player, and it looks like intuition has once again led to sonic nirvana (well, relatively speaking). No $125 player has even the vaguest right to sound this good... there ought to be a law. The same chips that the Rotel RCD-951 used probably have a lot to do with it (Pacific Microsonics HDCD digital filters and Dual Burr-Brown 18-bit DACs). My Rotel RCD-855 is now in storage.

 

[seagrasser]

I have the same misgivings and accolades to bestow on this player.

1. The mechanism...very Mickey Mouse.
2. The sound is absolutely fantastic and it appears to play all of my CD's
3. Not a bad remote.
4. Plays HDCD's don't have many, but it makes a difference.

cheers,

Jason

PS first real post....so happy to actually add something instead of lurking

 

[gregmorris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch The 5-CD changer is a bit on the noisy/clunky side... I suspect this will be the first thing to go in the unit, and unlike single-CD units it's unlikely to last decades. But... the price is right. I think I'll stick with the analog outputs and *not* get a Zhaolu like I was considering... the built in DACs really are pretty dandy to my ears. Well extended on both ends, smooth highs (without digititis), very musically engaging overall.

Yep.... The dead transport on my DCM-370 is the reason I ended up going with a Zhaolu. I really liked this player and I got it for around $60 shipped! It lasted for around 3 or 4 years. If I could easily replace the transport I would.
I replaced the output JRC opamps with two AD826's (but any quality dual opamp would give a noticable improvement) and disconnected the headphone jack (which I read somewhere has a noticable effect...I figured I might as well). I think it is worth the time to switch the opamps....just make sure to replace with a socket so future swapping will be possible.
You may be able to find a better deal on the DCM-65 which is identical but lesser known.

Enjoy.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregmorris Yep.... The dead transport on my DCM-370 is the reason I ended up going with a Zhaolu. I really liked this player and I got it for around $60 shipped! It lasted for around 3 or 4 years. If I could easily replace the transport I would. I replaced the output JRC opamps with two AD826's (but any quality dual opamp would give a noticable improvement) and disconnected the headphone jack (which I read somewhere has a noticable effect...I figured I might as well). I think it is worth the time to switch the opamps....just make sure to replace with a socket so future swapping will be possible. You may be able to find a better deal on the DCM-65 which is identical but lesser known. Enjoy.

I did the headphone jack mod, but the circuit boards don't look too accessible to me (certainly not approaching the Rotel RCD-855 clean layout) and my soldering skills are rusty... so I'll probably pass. I can only guess how nice a dual OPA627 on Browndog would probably sound, but I have few complaints about the sound as-is, really. The player really has a certain magic that I'm not sure I want to risk upsetting.

I figure when it dies, I'll probably go the external DAC route finally like you did... perhaps using the Rotel RCD-855 as transport, or I'll just pick up something else cheap/decent.

 

[gregmorris]

With the cover off, the opamps that need replacing are on the underside of the board, close to the RCA outs. A couple of screws and a few ribbon cables and you're there (seems like I left one cable connected but I could still flip the board over to access the opamps). I admit, once I got some good opamps in, I didn't feel like going through the hassle again. I did like the AD826 better than the OPA2134 though.

 

[Ampersand]

does anyone have any info or links to the above mod? I'd like to do this to my dcm-380. Thanks.

BTW, I searched already and nothing denon specific came up.

 

[mlarn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregmorris Yep.... The dead transport on my DCM-370 is the reason I ended up going with a Zhaolu. I really liked this player and I got it for around $60 shipped! It lasted for around 3 or 4 years. If I could easily replace the transport I would. I replaced the output JRC opamps with two AD826's (but any quality dual opamp would give a noticable improvement) and disconnected the headphone jack (which I read somewhere has a noticable effect...I figured I might as well). I think it is worth the time to switch the opamps....just make sure to replace with a socket so future swapping will be possible. You may be able to find a better deal on the DCM-65 which is identical but lesser known. Enjoy.

By transport here are you referring to the internal DAC of the CD payer? This means that only that part of the player failed and you then got the Zhaolu to take over this purpose?
Thanks.

 

[gregmorris]

By transport, I mean the part that spins the disc. The actual carousel and I assume everything else still works. I might post the parts over on diyaudio. Someone would probably like to have the HDCD chip. The unit is currently gathering dust....I can't bear to toss it.

I've got a cheap pioneer universal player acting as transport (also around $60 off ebay) for my zhaolu.

 

[gregmorris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ampersand does anyone have any info or links to the above mod? I'd like to do this to my dcm-380. Thanks. BTW, I searched already and nothing denon specific came up.

You basically just follow the wire from the jack to the circuit board and unplug it at the board.

http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/1/226.html

 

[mlarn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregmorris By transport, I mean the part that spins the disc. The actual carousel and I assume everything else still works. I might post the parts over on diyaudio. Someone would probably like to have the HDCD chip. The unit is currently gathering dust....I can't bear to toss it. I've got a cheap pioneer universal player acting as transport (also around $60 off ebay) for my zhaolu.

Thanks! Between this, the refurbished Sony CE595 and the Phillips DVP 642 there are some good, cheap players around!

 

[Ampersand]

Got it, thanks!

 

[morphsci]

The transport mechanism is relatively loud but I have not been impressed by any 5 disc mechanism. Even the mechanism in my Sony 333es is not that much quieter (but quite a bit sturdier). It's really interesting because the DCM-370 replaced my Rotel RCD-855 for the exact same reason, a very smooth, non-fatiguing sound with not a great loss of detail. If you get a chance you should try a few external DAC's from the coax SPDIF out, I had an old CAL sigma for a while that meshed really well with the Denon.

Good luck, just watch out for the upgradeitis, it can hit really hard